Apologies for not posting last week, I rather dropped the ball there, didn’t I? Same old excuse of course, which I don’t need to repeat now do I? Surely not. Ok, just this once – fibromyalgia again.

Yes, last week was pretty much a wipe out creatively speaking. I managed a paltry 1500 words on the new novel and spent many hours just resting and feeling sorry for myself. One of the worst flare ups I’ve had in recent times. Also, I produced what is without doubt the worst podcast I’ve ever done. No no, I can be honest, it was absolutely dire.

And it’s still there now, the old fibro, although alongside it I’ve developed a somewhat steely determination this week to not let it override everything. So here goes with a blog post.

We’ve been at the flat, which we’ve christened Blessham Towers, quite a few months now since moving on on August 19^th, and I have to report that it’s been a truly great experience in so many ways.

Sure, both Ange and I have had a plethora of health problems to contend with but we haven’t allowed that to dull the thrill and enjoyment of our new home. In case you didn’t know, that new home is in Settle, North Yorkshire. We’ve always enjoyed visiting the town but in the last three months or so we’ve come to love it as if we’d been here our whole lives.

The flat itself is warm and comfortable with every mod con we need. The views from all our windows range from bucolic to spectacular and I don’t personally know anyone else who has such a scene through their living room window such as we have. I apologise if you do of course. I wasn’t boasting or anything.

And we’ve got the place exactly how we want it now as well, thanks to a lot of help from a lot of wonderful people (you all know who you are).

The neighbours are by and large friendly, a few sour pusses here and there but you can’t knock a coconut over every time, can you? We’ve made a lot of new friends and been welcomed and invited to several events locally. It seems there’s always something going on around here.

The town itself is an unadulterated joy. Walking through it, in any weather, one is struck again and again by the exquisite natural beauty that surrounds this ancient borough. Everywhere you look there are hills, rivers and craggy rocks a plenty and enough verdant greenery to please the most rurally minded visitor to Settle.

One of the neighbours, a bit of a misery guts, said to me that in his opinion the town wasn’t very exciting. I held my tongue and refrained from telling him that I hadn’t moved to Settle for excitement. If I wanted that I would have moved to Leeds or Manchester. What I want, at this time of life, in my mid-fifties, is peace and quiet and somewhere to breathe and feel relaxed and calm of mind.

And the truth of the matter, actually, is that if you look below the surface, there is plenty to do in this gorgeous little town.

Victoria Hall is the country’s oldest music hall and hosts many events every week throughout the year including plays, gigs, fairs and film showings. We’ve already been several times and thoroughly enjoyed each visit.

For the more athletically minded, there’s an excellent swimming pool, funded locally, which is right next door to Settle United football club, who are doing rather well at the moment and win more than they lose. There’s also a cricket club and an excellent bowling green. Oh come on, what do you expect in a place like Settle, Laser Quest? Thankfully there’s no such thing here.

If dining out is your (nose) bag then you could do a lot worse than the many wonderful local hostelries and eateries in the area and if you’re looking for a takeaway there’s plenty to choose from there as well. And, speaking as a connoisseur, I can say hand-on-heart that the fish and chips on Church Street are amongst the best I’ve ever had. The same applies to the Ruchee Indian restaurant when it comes to curry; try the Kashmiri Asian style if you like them a bit lively!

Plus, all the local pubs are awash with real ale and the Talbot has probably the best pint of Guinness I’ve ever tasted outside of the Emerald Isle. More-ish in the extreme.

If this is staring to sound like an advert for The Settle Tourist Board then I apologise for that but maybe that’s not a bad thing either.

Friends and family love visiting us here and that speaks volumes to me about the place. It’s only a small one-bedroomed flat after all but we’re always happy to pull out the old double sofa bed, plus there is a guest room available on the other side of the corridor with two single beds for £10 per night per person. I’m reliably informed by those friends and family who have stayed in it that it’s most commodious and comfortable, and, it has an en-suite WC. What’s not to like?

We’ve been a bit transient over the last 8 years or so, have Ange and I, moving almost every year or two, from caravans to houses to narrowboats. But now we feel that we’ve finally arrived at our forever home and never want to move again. Our bedroom is so spacious that we’ve both set up ample office space in there and I have a great setting to work in and rattle out those novels of mine.

So, marks out of 100 for the (final) move? Well, I’d say 95. Nowhere is perfect and you know what they say, if you ever find the perfect place don’t move there because you’ll ruin it. But we’re so happy to be here in our early Autumn years after so much gadding about that yes, we really do feel quite Settle-d here.

So there you go. Two extremely happy people.

Next week, I’m hoping to post a special Christmas article on the blog in the guise of a certain character of mine, so watch out for that.